Norman Grigsby (Earth-1)
"We are only puppets, our strings are being pulled by unknown forces." Norman Grigsby is a villain in the Generation X campaign. He was first formally introduced in I'm Your Puppet and became a recurring antagonist. Grigsby is a emotionally and psychologically disturbed individual with narcissistic tendencies and an antisocial personality. Dangerous and obsessive, Grigsby is considered one of the most dangerous of the eleven escapees from the Buckner Ridge facility. Personality Grigsby is a professional criminal and former "magician" with a deep-seated need for control and vindication. Disturbed and saddled with extreme abandonment and trust issues, Grigsby is dangerously obsessive. He is not the most educated man in the world, but he naturally cunning and lacks empathy, making a dangerous individual when coupled with his superhuman ability to control the motor functions of others, a power he does not hesitate to exercise. The traumatic loss of his parents at a young age, when accompanied by an abrupt transition to an unsympathetic environment and caregiver, resulted in persistent feelings of anger and frustration toward society and other people. Rhoades' psychological analysis revealed anti-social tendencies and an aversion toward causal human interaction. In substitution, he has a highly developed fantasy instinct that he projects on his perceptions of the world, and any rejection, anger or cruelty he encounters is channeled into his repressed frustrations and deep-rooted sense of rejection. Because of the disruption to his emotional development at an early age, Grigsby possesses many of the psychological characteristics of a prepubescent child. His ability has become the primary outlet for his childhood feelings of loss and powerlessness, leading to a chronic psychological dependency. Grigsby has also developed a number of accompanying defense mechanisms, such as a radical perception of justice and vengeance that validates virtually any action against a given victim. For example, he had no problem threatening to force Anna to commit suicide, nor did his game of Russian Roulette against Rhoades, Anna and Reginald bother him as both were actions taken against Rhoades, who Grigsby views as having betrayed and failed him. Even without his power, Grigsby is a skilled magician and is very learned in sleight of hand and legerdemain, as well as escapology and misdirection. It is necessary to watch his hands almost at all times, as one never knows what he has stored up his sleeves. He is very skilled at picking locks and escaping from bonds. He is surprisingly charismatic while in his stage persona. He is also very a skilled musician, able to play the trumpet with surprising clarity and he seems to possess extensive knowledge of plays, especially Shakespeare. Grigsby does not use his ability on children. He has a strange connection with children and will go out of his to protect them, or to get revenge on those who hurt children. He will often make toys for poor children and he often performed his shows for them for free once or twice a week. He loves toys, as well, and he collects toys from around the world and keeps them in his warehouse. Grigsby is also fond of animals and refuses to hurt them. He is an avid vegetarian and will take vicious vengeance out on those who hurt animals or children. Grigsby tends to be secluded and likes it best when he's by himself. He is an introvert with difficulty connecting to other emotionally and almost refuses to physically touch others, preferring to keep other people at a distance. He doesn't often develop romantic feelings but when he does, he becomes obsessive, even going so far as to kidnap one girl (I'm Your Puppet). While he is a very meticulous planner and tactician, Grigsby tends to act impulsively when threatened, which is where his plans tend to fall apart. He has a very obsessive attention span and he will not give up on a project until it is finished. He works with tunnel-vision; he goes into every task with scary, single-minded efficiency. All in all, Grigsby is a disturbed individual who has lived separate from others long enough that he does, indeed, see them as his own personal playthings. History Norman Grigsby was born in Omaha, Nebraska. The son of a middle-school teacher, he has a very shaky childhood with parents who constantly fought with one another. He was orphaned at age five when his parents were both killed in a car accident. After a lengthy process, Norman was sent to live with his uncle Ned in Brooklyn, New York, NY. Norman has trouble adjusting to his new home, shunning his uncle and the New York lifestyle in favor of an elaborate imaginary world revolving around a set of crude finger puppets that his birth mother had made for him. Ned, an avid outdoorsman, clashed frequently with his nephew over Norman's desire to "play with dolls". He often hit Norman when the boy lashed out. Norman was not popular at school, often being the target of bullies and even teacher's frustrations. He had difficulty with reading and math, and thus was often the source of frustration by many of his teachers. He had no friends, instead remaining in his fantasy world, drawing pictures and carving etchings of his imaginary world and the friends who dwelled there. No matter how bad the teasing or bullying got, Norman kept silent and waited to go home. Nobody could hurt him at home, in his own imaginary world. During the summer of 1944, when Norman was sixteen years old, his uncle Ned tried to drag him out to enjoy the beach. Norman refused to go, preferring instead to remain behind to play with his finger puppets. In a rage, Ned lashed out and hit Norman before throwing the puppets to his dogs as chew toys. Watching as the last keepsakes of his childhood were destroyed, Norman flew into a rage, which caused his powers to manifest for the first time. Norman forced his uncle to walk out into traffic, where he was hit by a large truck and killed instantly. In the days afterward, Norman eagerly experimented with his new power while he waited to be arrested for his uncle's murder, but the police concluded he had committed suicide. This served to embolden Norman in the months ahead. Left with his uncle's house in Brooklyn and his assets, Norman practiced magic tricks and opened a moderately successful magic theater and workshop in 1951, entertaining children with intricate shows, going so far as to use his power on the parents as a form of "hypnosis". While the children were always delighted at his shows, he often clashed with parents and business partners. Behind the theater operations, Norman carried out an increasingly brutal pastime: kidnapping and torturing those who Norman felt slighted him. In 1956, mod Don Vito Salvatore sent some goons to break Norman's legs, as he had failed to pay back money he had borrowed for a failed business venture. Norman successfully dominated the thugs, forcing them to kill themselves by drowning the East River. Don Salvatore was impressed and instead of killing Norman, he offered Norman a job as an enforcer for the Mob. Norman accepted the job and took the name "Puppet Master" for this new professional persona. In 1962, Norman met Elizabeth Banks at an antique flea market, where Elizabeth was admiring a rare, 18th century marionette from Switzerland. Norman fell in love at first sight and felt that he and Elizabeth were meant to be together. Despite Elizabeth's initial politeness and Norman's increasingly desperate attempts--including extravagant gifts, threatening letters and manipulating her boyfriend into committing suicide--he was unable to make her love him, to his deep frustration. During that time, he met Doctor Alexander Rhoades and Jude Smith, two researchers who were interested in his abilities. He met with them for several weeks, being tested and interviewed by Doctor Rhoades, who promised Norman that he would learn to control his powers and be "fixed". During one session, Norman described Elizabeth and their relationship, going so far as to describe his desire to abduct her and "make her love him". Not long after that session, Norman did indeed attempt to abduct Elizabeth but was stopped by Rhoades and Jude. He was arrested and discovered that Rhoades had masterminded his capture, causing Norman to feel deeply betrayed and angry towards the psychologist. More so, he was abandoned by the mob and he was sent to jail: a maximum security prison in northern Montana known as Buckner Ridge, where he was kept under sedation for years. But he waited patiently, plotting his revenge for the day when he escaped. In May of 1967, more than four years after his imprisonment, the chance arose when Grigsby was able to escape thanks to the help of the company Caliban Enterprises. Of course, they wanted him to do something for them in exchange for his freedom, and of course he planned on it, but he just had one little thing to take of first….revenge. Notable Accomplishments N/A Notable Victories *Incapacitated Annabelle Babin & Franklin Dodds (I'm Your Puppet) Relationships with Others Grigsby does not interact well with others, often trying to gain control by using his power, or otherwise lashing out and becoming frustrated and angry at others because of his inability to connect either emotionally or physically with others. Alexander Rhoades is Grigsby's most hates foe. He once trusted Rhoades and believed that Rhoades could help fix him and make him normal, so people would like him. He trusted him so much that he told Rhoades everything, as he stupidly believed that "Doctor/Patient Confidentiality" actually meant something to him. Rhoades' betrayal, which lead to his subsequent arrest, has been the fuel that got Grigsby through the last four years. Grigsby will not rest until Rhoades is dead and in the ground. Jude Smith possesses a similar place, but his hatred is not as intense. Jude was always sarcastic and mean toward him, just like everyone else. While he does believe that Jude had the best intentions of helping him, it was always Rhoades who understood Norman. Jude was just like the others. His hatred of Jude stems mostly from Jude embarrassing him in front of Elizabeth by beating him up and resisting his powers. Annabelle Babin is a member of Rhoades' Field Team and the person responsible for his most recent plan going awry. While he first saw her as an annoyance, he has come to hate her almost as much as Rhoades, and he is going to take great pleasure in her forced demise. Powers and Abilities Grigsby is an evolved human, and thus possesses some superhuman abilities, in addition to some mundane training. *'Escapology:' Norman is skilled at picking locks and escaping bonds of any kind, especially hand-cuffs. *'Ledgerdemain:' Norman is skilled in sleight of hand, magic tricks, optical illusions and misdirection. *'Puppeteering:' The human brain controls its motor functions by electric signals sent from receptors in the body to the brain. These signals are what controls the body and are what makes it act the way it does and perform. Grigsby is somehow able to psychically alter these signals, blocking the body's own transmitters and substituting those signals with those of his own design. In this way, he is able to take control of other people's bodies and motor functions against their will. He appears to have complete control over other's actions, but not their thoughts. He is able to force people to perform any physical action he desires, even if it would force them to harm themselves or others. Most of the time, he forces them to mimic his own actions, but he is able to exercise some control with simple hand movements. It is not known if he can exert his power without some kind of gesture. He can simultaneously immobilize at least five people with this ability, though he may be able to do more. He can force them to remain paralyzed while he takes control of the others. He does not require line of sight to keep them immobilized, but he must be able to see them in order to exert his control. He must be able to see them to establish control. He has to concentrate on individuals to maintain control; if he doesn't know they're there or has no reason to maintain control (such as thinking they are dead), they are not influenced by his power. **'Mind Control:' Alternatively, instead of controlling their physical actions, Norman can override somebody's brain and force them to follow a simple set of commands. Once these goals are accomplished or if they receive sufficient physical force to their heads, the control ends and they retain no memory of their actions or several hours leading up to their dominations. This function is not as powerful or as well-practiced as his puppeteering, so he uses this power sparingly. *'Tactician:' Norman is skilled at making intricate plans that he puts together with meticulous attention to detail. Paraphernelia Norman does not carry any specialized gear or weapons. Weaknesses Norman also has a number of weaknesses that hinder him and his operations and schemes. *'Anger Control:' Grigsby has trouble controlling his temper. He possesses deep-seeded anger issued and is easily frustrated. He also lets his feelings and anger cloud his judgement. *'Anti-Social Personality Disorder:' A mental health condition in which a person has a long-term pattern of manipulating, exploiting, or violating the rights of others. *'Fantasy World:' Norman still lives in that fantasy world, often refusing to acknowledge certain parts of the real world in favor of his delusions. *'Fear of Rejection:' Grigsby has an almost chronic feeling of powerlessness and fear of rejection. This colors almost everything he does. Notes *Norman Grigsby's Play-by actor is David H. lawrence XVII. *Is named after the titual psycho from the movie Psycho, Norman Bates. *Based in small part on the character of Mysterio from Spider-Man. Trivia *Grigsby's favorite color is purple. *Loves old, 1930's / 1940's music. His favorite is jazz music. *His power does not work on animals. *Grigsby loves the movie Sabrina. *His favorite actor is Humphrey Bogart and he has a celebrity-crush on Audrey Hepburn. Category:Extrahuman Category:Mind Control Category:Male Characters Category:Native of Earth-1 Category:Generation X Category:Generation X Villains Category:Villains Category:Neutral Evil Characters Category:N.W.O. Member